For Immediate Release
June 25, 2018
Contact: Colton Grace
864-492-6719
SAM Applauds FDA Approval of First CBD Medication
(Alexandria, VA) – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) founder and president, Dr. Kevin Sabet, released the following statement regarding the recent FDA approval of the first cannabidiol medication, Epidiolex:
“Today, the FDA reached a milestone by approving a pure CBD oil medication – Epidiolex – for the treatment of two rare epileptic disorders. This is an important development. Medication should be left up to science, not political ideology, and now desperately ill patients can access this safe and effective medication through doctors and pharmacies.
“Previous research by the FDA found that many of the oils marketed as CBD contained dangerous substances, including high amounts of THC. Medication development should be left up to scientists and the FDA, not a for-profit marijuana industry that bypasses all regulation. Today’s decision should be commended.”
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottelib made the following important point in his statement this afternoon: “This is an important medical advance. But it’s also important to note that this is not an approval of marijuana or all of its components. This is the approval of one specific CBD medication for a specific use.”
###
About SAM
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than 30 states. For more information about marijuana use and its effects, visit http://www.learnaboutsam.org.